The Defense Security Cooperation Agency is exploring ways to streamline how it administers the foreign military sales program. The goal is to make the process of supplying international partners with military equipment more flexible and responsive, according to Vice Adm. William Landay, DSCA director. Landay said today’s FMS customers want their goods and services as quickly as possible—often to support current operations—while still getting the best deal possible. DSCA has 11 initiatives under way in this regard. Among them, the agency is testing a concept to get pre-approvals for requests for high-demand technologies such as remotely piloted aircraft, said Landay. DSCA is also exploring having stocks on hand of some of the highest-in-demand FMS items, such as night-vision devices, body armor, and radios, so that the agency can make deliveries quickly when formal requests come in. (AFPS report by Donna Miles)
The Pentagon is significantly bolstering airpower near Venezuela, dispatching the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group to Latin America, it said in an Oct. 24 statement. The announcement came just hours after U.S. Air Force B-1 bombers and other U.S. assets flew near the Venezuelan coast on Oct. 23.
